


It Won't Be Easy

by Nibbledsnarf



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Frisk, Angst, Bigotry, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Female Frisk, Fluff, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Violence, male reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-06-10 15:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6962914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nibbledsnarf/pseuds/Nibbledsnarf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're a 21 year old college student attending Ebott University. It's been nine years since the Barrier fell and monsters came down from Mt. Ebott. It never really affected you until you met Frisk. Soon, you're dealing with monsters, your own conflicting feelings for Frisk, and enemies, old and new, who don't care about what you or your friends want. But you'll get through it, you know you'll make it all work. But it won't be easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not a Morning Person

 

            You were tired. You could feel yourself nodding off in the middle of class as an old woman stood at a podium and tried to make herself heard to the students in the back of the lecture hall. The only thing you could think of was why the hell had you decided to sign up for an 8am class.

            “So, who can tell me what monsters are made of?”

            Her question reminded you why you were up this early. It wasn’t your choice at all, and if you had it your way, you’d be taking this class at 8 at night instead. But the mandatory ‘Monster History and Relations’ course was just that, mandatory. And in your lack of foresight, you waited until the last minute to sign up for the class. As you contemplated your poor life choices, a voice next to you jarred you from your sleep deprived state.

            “Monsters only consist of one thing,” The voice answered. “Magic.”

            You glanced over at the other student. They had a mop of long brown hair that seemed to be in a state between messy and still well groomed. They had darker skin, but their accent (or lack thereof) made it clear that they were raised locally. They wore a blue hooded sweatshirt, with the college name on the front of it. It was a bit too large for them, which made their sex ambiguous at best. They must have noticed you looking, because they cast an annoyed look your way.

_It’s too early to be getting glared at,_ you think as you lay your head back between your arms, vaguely listening as the professor rattled on about the history of monsters. You tuned her out, but only because you’d had this part drilled into your head nine years ago. When the monsters came down from Mt. Ebott, you had lived only twenty minutes outside of Ebott City, which meant you got a first-hand view of the ensuing chaos. From what you heard, only two monsters came down initially, the King and Queen of Monsterkind. They were both looked like large bipedal goats, with regal clothing that wouldn’t look out of place at a renaissance fair. They announced the existence of the monsters under the mountain, and that they had worked a deal with the government to set up a small town near the mountain. As that property was part of a National Park, it wasn’t like they would be kicking any humans out of their living space.

            They had very little contact with the media, only ever holding one interview and a handful of press conferences to address specific topics as necessary. They told the country that they planned to cooperate with the government and its people, that in time they too hoped to become citizens, and they hoped that both sides could set aside their fears and pave a path of peace for future generations. It didn’t end up that smooth.

            Most of the major TV networks remained civil, even if they disagreed with giving the monsters even what little they’d already had. The online voices were the worst. You’d seen racist, sexist, homophobic comments online so frequently that you just assumed that these were just people too bored to do anything but stir up trouble. When it came to the monsters, their comments took on a level of venom you’d never seen before. And that was just the beginning.

            After two years, the monsters were finally allowed to leave their town. The government had been taking steps to ensure that their integration went as smoothly as possible. Apartment complexes and small housing units sprang up near the suburbs of Ebott in record time (you would later find out that the monsters had an excess of gold and other precious gems that they pulled from the mountain, and you had no doubt that this smoothed the process out considerably). They began to open businesses in the city, and a school was set up for their children. Things began to calm down, but it wasn’t to last.

            After about six months of settling in, the King and Queen held their first and only interview, concerning how they managed to finally leave the Underground. They revealed their adopted child, a human who went by the name of Frisk. Frisk didn’t say much, only answering yes or no questions, while sitting on their mother’s lap like it was just another day. The interview itself went relatively well, with the discussion of magic having already been talked about in an earlier press conference.

            When people heard that monsters were raising a human child, it didn’t go over well at all. At best, it was concern that monsters don’t have enough knowledge to properly raise a human. At worst, accusations of mind control, Stockholm Syndrome and threats were used as reasons for why a human child was with monsters. Then the protestors showed up in full force. In the daytime, they came with signs and megaphones, standing outside monster businesses and houses, chanting for them to go back under the mountain. This continued for two months, until it all boiled over. Some of the protestors decided to harass a Snowdrake, and as it tried to flee from the protestors, it used its magic to freeze the ground behind it. Short of a few slips and falls, the protestors were physically unharmed. But the monster had used magic outside of a monster owned home or business. That was all the urging the protestors needed.

            That night, they went to the monster side of Ebott, armed with rocks and knives and torches and guns. They smashed, burned, and looted any business they could, chanting and cheering as they went. And then they moved into the residential area. You remember seeing the smoke, and hearing the sirens as the police headed to cut off the protestors. By the time it was all over, most monster businesses had been destroyed, a quarter of the residential area had been burned to some extent, and over 50 monsters were now dust. The monsters fled back to their town on the mountain; back to where they had been safe. Before they closed the large wooden gates, the King and Queen held one more conference.

            They expressed their sadness about the event, stating that they had hoped that fear and bigotry wouldn’t win. They made a point of stating that no humans had been hurt that night, that there was no reason for this to happen, and that they would be staying on the mountain until they could be assured that they wouldn’t have to live in fear. As the King wrapped up his speech, Frisk slid off their mother’s lap, and walked up to the podium holding a small urn.

            “Sixty-two monsters are dead, I hope you animals are happy,” They sniffed into the microphone, their small eyes puffed and red from hours of crying.

            “You want to know why I went up the mountain? I was running away from this, all this violence, all this hatred.” They looked down at the urn they were holding, before breaking into more tears.

            “Snowy was twelve years old!” Frisk shouted, their eyes so bloodshot it seemed their eyes were a deep crimson. “He was scared, now he’s dead, and it’s all your fault! And now I have to go bury my friend, or at least what’s left of him.” With that, Frisk stepped off the podium, whispered something to their mother, and walked into the monster’s gated town.

            With that speech, whatever skepticism people initially had about monsters was broken. Sure, there were still bigots and monster haters, but all the people who had kept silent and inactive during the period of hatred all began to show their support for monsters. The anti-monster groups now found themselves outnumbered five to one at their protests and with each day there seemed to be fewer anti-monster protests at all. News networks aired Frisk’s speech, voicing their support and prompting others to do the same. Volunteer groups began cleaning up the destruction from the night of rioting, repairing damaged homes where they could, building new ones where they couldn’t, and keeping watch over the areas to ensure that no added destruction came to the homes and businesses.

            Almost a full year later, the monsters returned to their homes and businesses. While they hadn’t obtained citizenship yet, the state had passed laws that made crime against monsters a hate crime. Monster businesses flourished, and soon Ebott itself became an integrated community. It wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely better than before.

            After spacing out for a while you glanced at your phone to see that you only had another five minutes left in class. At this point, the teacher had only just started talking about the night of rioting. You decided to see how your classmates were reacting to this. A majority of them had this odd look on their faces. It looked like a combination of shame and guilt. You understood why they felt that way, since it had been entirely humans in the wrong during those awful moments. Yet it wasn’t like they personally participated in it. Your classmates didn’t look any older than you, and you’d barely been 14 at the time.

            What did bother you were the few classmates who seemed to be smiling about it. This was a fairly accepting college, and being so close to Ebott, it even gained a sizeable monster population over the past few years.

             _They must not be from around here, otherwise they wouldn’t have that shitty smirk on their faces._ The rioting was still a touchy subject around Ebott, even though half of the rioters had been from other states. Turning to your left, you saw that the student who answered earlier was biting their lip, in such a way that it seemed like they were fighting back tears. You considered saying something, but the professor just then ended class and was assigning the reading for the night. Jotting down the assignment, you decided to stay and check your phone while the rest of the class slowly filed out the doors. When most of the class was gone, you realized that the other student was still there, and they still had that look on their face.

            “Hey,” You said to them. “Is everything alright?” Like a switch had been flipped, they seemed to immediately snap out of whatever memory they were in.

            “Hm? Sorry, I spaced out there for a bit. I guess I should go to sleep a little earlier.” They said, grinning happily. You gave a short laugh and began to get out of your seat when your stomach decided to let out a long, low grumble.

            “I guess I need to start eating breakfast before class from now on,” You mumble to yourself. Hearing this, your classmate lets out a laugh.

            “I was heading over to a small bakery about 15 minutes from here, do you want to come with me?” They ask. Never one to turn down a chance to find new places to eat, you nod enthusiastically and hold out your hand to shake. “I don’t think I had a chance to introduce myself,” You say, giving them a small smile. “I’m ____,” Taking your hand and giving it a firm shake, they smile back at you.

            “I’m Frisk Dreemur, nice to meetcha!”


	2. Hold the Spiders, Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Frisk visit everyone's favorite spider filled bakery (It's also the ONLY spider filled bakery).

            When Frisk told you their name, you were at a loss for words. You knew that Dreemur was the last name of the King and Queen, so did this make them royalty? Were you supposed to address them as such? You quickly gathered your composure and decided to just treat them like you would any new acquaintance. You started asking them about their time at the university.

            “Well, this is my first year here, so I don’t have a very good idea on what the school’s like yet.” Frisk said. “Most of the people seem friendly enough, but I haven’t had a chance to talk with many other students.” You nodded, remembering that the first week of college was less about meeting people and more about finding your way around campus. That being said, you never did consider yourself an overly outgoing person.

            About ten minutes into your walk, it occurred to you that Frisk was walking toward the monster side of the city. Ebott University was just outside the city, close to both the human side and the monster side. Not that you had a problem with the monster side of the city. You’d poked your head into a few stores around there, and while the residents were all warm and welcoming, you always felt a knot in your stomach, like you were intruding on their safe areas. As you looked back on the moments, Frisk decided to comment on your silence.

            “Hey, is everything alright?” They asked, with a look of concern. You gave a halfhearted smile back.

“I’m fine,” You reply. “Just looking around.” Frisk gives you an odd look, and then starts to walk again. You follow them until they stop in front of a small café on the corner. You only just get a chance to read the sign - Muffet’s Bakery - before the smell of pastries hits your nose. You look over and Frisk is already opening the door to head inside. Behind the counter are a dozen spiders, each about half a foot long, mixing dough and icing cupcakes. You tug on Frisk’s sleeve, and they turn to you with a worried look on their face.

            “You’re not afraid of spiders, right?” They ask sheepishly. You shake your head and laugh nervously.

            “As long as they’re just making the food and not in it…”You say, eying the food with suspicion. Frisk flashes you a grin.

            “Just make sure to tell them that when you order.” Frisk says. They then turn to the spider at the counter, placing an order for a croissant, with no spiders. Realizing that they weren’t kidding about the order, you order a croissant as well, not knowing if all of the items came with a ‘spider-free’ option.

            “I want to go say hi to the owner,” Frisk says to you. “Do you mind grabbing us a table outside?” You nod, still a little shocked about the spiders behind the counter. When you go out the door, the cool autumn breeze snaps you out of your surprised state, and you go take a seat. Frisk follows you out shortly, carrying a tray with two croissants on it.

            “Sorry about that, I wanted to go say hi to Muffet,” They tell you, before taking a bite out of their croissant. You pick yours up and hesitantly take a bite out of it. It’s warm and buttery and most importantly, there are no spiders in it. You both eat your food in comfortable silence, until there’s nothing left but crumbs. Before you have a chance to say anything, Frisk speaks up.

            “So, um…what did you think of class today?” You can tell that this was meant to sound like an innocent question, but it felt a little heavier than just small talk. You run your fingers through the back of your hair.

            “Honestly, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard already. I’m not going to bore you with my life story, but I grew up only a few miles from here. I was 14 when all those monsters were…” You stopped and hesitated, knowing from Frisk’s earlier reaction that this was a sore spot for them.

            “Murdered.” They said, so low it was almost a whisper. You could see the same signs from class. The biting of the lip, the unfocused eyes. You yourself were familiar with the signs of someone close to tears. “I’m sorry,” You said, looking down at your own hands that were clenched on the table. “I don’t want to bring up old wounds, but I remember what you said. I remember you mentioned your friend who was killed when the riots happened. You changed a lot of people’s minds that day, but I’m sorry it took a tragedy to make all of us realize how awful we’d been to monsters up until that point.” You didn’t look up from your hands until Frisk spoke.

            “It means a lot to me that you said that.” You looked up and could still hear the sadness in their voice, but their eyes were clear again and a small smile played on their lips. “Not many people have said anything about that night. I think most people have forgotten about it.” You nodded in agreement. Sure, everyone liked to remember when monsters were finally granted citizenship three years ago, but no one wanted to remember when they had stood by silently and let sixty-two monsters die at the hands of the vocal bigots.

            “You’re different from most people I’ve met,” Frisk said with a grin. “Most people don’t know who I am right away, but those who do always start talking about they’ve always been avid monster supporters from day one. But you didn’t, why is that?” You give Frisk a small shrug.

            “Dunno, you didn’t seem eager to talk about it, and I didn’t feel like bringing it up.” You tell them. “That being said, I honestly had no idea how I was supposed to address you, like am I supposed to address you as royalty?” You ask jokingly. Frisk smirks at you. “Nah, last time I let someone treat me like royalty, my mom said it went straight to my head.” You laugh at the thought of this short kid in a baggy sweatshirt acting all pompous and proper. “I honestly can’t see that happening, you just don’t have that ‘royal’ air to you.” Frisk puts a hand to their chest in mock offense.

            “How rude!” They shout dramatically. “You dirty knave!” You do your best to keep a straight face as you get out of your chair and perform an overly exaggerated bow.

            “My apologies _Your Highness,_ how uncivil of me. Shall I send myself to the dungeon for punishment?” You say mockingly as you stick your tongue out at them. Frisk bursts out laughing at your ridiculous display. “My, what a flirt you are, you’ve only just met me and you’re already trying to hit on me. Aren’t you a confident one!” Frisk says with a wink. You can feel your cheeks redden as you try to explain yourself.

            “Hey, I was just joking around, I definitely didn’t mean it like _that_ ,” You say, trying to find a better way to explain yourself. “We were just joking around and-” Frisk cuts you off. “Take it easy, I was just messing with you,” They say, sliding their backpack over their shoulder. “I’m no stranger to jokingly flirting myself. Hell, I practically flirted my way out of the Underground!” You give them an incredulous look, as you pick up your own bag as well.

            “Weren’t you like…eight?” You ask. Frisk shoots you an annoyed look. “No, I was ten.” They mumble.

            “That’s not much older!” You laugh at them and glance at your phone. You realize you need to start heading back to school. “As much as I’d like to grill you about this, I actually need to go to class. Why don’t we talk about this on the way back?” Frisk smiles and nods. The two of you head off before Frisk launches into a story about how they constantly flirted with their mother, Toriel, for the entire month they spent living with her Underground. Frisk was still going by the time you were back at the main campus.

            “But once we got above ground, she made a big deal about sitting me down and explaining to me that flirting with everyone wasn’t proper or something like that.” Frisk said while rolling their eyes. “I knew that already, but it was just too much fun!” You smiled at that. You really were having fun, but you had to head over to your next class.

            “Hey, I need to head out to my next class, so I’ll catch up with you later, ok?” You tell them. “Alright,” Frisk says. “Bye!” You both start to head out in different directions, your mind already somewhere else. You had no intention on meeting someone new today, but as you head to your next class, you find yourself smiling about this morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So two questions for you.
> 
> I have a name for the reader in my head. Do you want me to add that in, or just keep using the Blanks?
> 
> ALSO
> 
> Would you prefer Frisk stay Non-Binary?(Barring any mistakes I might have made) Or would you like them to go by their sex? 
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	3. Dinner Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to meet Frisk's family! (Megalovania plays in the distance)

            The next three days weren’t nearly as enjoyable. Between schoolwork and your other obligations, you hadn’t had a moment to yourself. Fortunately, it was Friday, and only had one course before the weekend. That’s why, despite it being 8 in the morning, you were still in a pretty good mood. You took the same seat from last time and sure enough, Frisk was sitting in the seat immediately left of yours.

            “Howdy!” They said, entirely too energetic for an early class.

            “‘Howdy’?” You ask. “What is this, the Old West? Are we gonna go wrangle some cattle, partner?” You say in your worst Texan accent. Frisk frowns and sticks their tongue out at you. “Shut up, I picked it up from my dad. He loved watching those old Western TV shows while he was Underground, and now that’s how he greets everyone.” You nod in acceptance. You understood the appeal of those old TV shows. You used to watch them with your Grampa when you were younger. You had good memories of him, back when your father used to drive you the two hour to visit him and your Gramma. Unfortunately you saw them less and less once you and your father had your…disagreement.

            It had been four years ago when your father decided to call it quits. To leave you and your mother to take care of yourselves. Now, you had never really been attached to your father. He was always out, going on business trips, being seen with all the right people, and, your personal favorite, ‘making connections’. Your mother had raised you, taken the role of both parents, and did a phenomenal job of raising you, as you’d heard people tell your mother in your youth. But things didn’t stay that easy. She had a stroke four years ago, limiting her ability move the right side of her body and causing her speech to experience to drop. Seeing as your mother now had nothing to offer him, your father decided to cut his losses and leave her. Before he did that though, he told you to come with him. And you promptly told him to fuck off. He went on and on about how the only reason you had lived as well as you had was because of his money, and that you were an ungrateful little shit for not appreciating all his work taking care of you. That had been the last straw. In what you still consider your lowest act, you showed him what you’d collected over the years.

            From the time you were 13, he’d take you on his business trips with him. But he always said that it was because his company wouldn’t pay for a double bed hotel, so you always were in a separate room. However, you knew the real reason he did this. He was sleeping with other women. So you’d gotten in the habit of setting up a small camera somewhere in the room. Was it an invasion of privacy? Sure, but he shouldn’t have been cheating on your mother. And you told him just that. You watched the blood drain from his face as he saw the amount of evidence you had on his infidelity. Then you gave him your deal. Don’t divorce mom, keep sending her money like nothing was wrong, and no one would ever know these existed. Not the courts, not his ‘connections’, and most importantly, not the husbands and boyfriends of the women he slept with. But after some more vulgarities were exchanged, he relented. Your mother got her monthly checks, and thing were manageable.

            You were lost in thought for a while, and it took Frisk shaking your shoulder to bring you back to the present. You smiled and nodded before asking them how their week was. You listened as they told you about a ‘workout routine’ they were doing with some of their monster friends, which sounded like it mainly consisted of running around shouting about how great they are. You could only assume this was a more ‘spiritual’ workout, until they told you it was for over an hour. You started to ask questions until class started. Class itself wasn’t any more eventful then last, just an overview of how monster rights have progressed over the past nine years. Again, this wasn’t anything new to you.

            At the end of class, you and Frisk walk out of the building together. You stand there awkwardly, not really sure what to say next. Fortunately, they decided to break the silence for you.

            “So I know this may seem a bit sudden, but my mom’s having a couple people over for dinner. I don’t know if you have any plans, but if you don’t, you should come eat with us!” You consider it for a moment, and decide that it actually does sound like a good idea. You smile enthusiastically at Frisk.

            “Sounds like fun! What time should I get there? And should I bring anything?” Frisk tells you to just bring yourself and to dress relatively comfortably. “Oh, and we should probably swap phone numbers, so I can tell you the address.” Frisk says, but for a second you could swear you saw a bit of pink on their cheeks. You hand them your phone, but you also see the chance to tease them and you jump on it. “Are you sure this wasn’t just an elaborate plan to get my phone number? You could have just asked for it.” You give Frisk an exaggerated wink. The redness of their cheeks deepens as they toss your phone back to you.

            “Just be there before 6.” Frisk mumbles into their sweatshirt. You laugh and tell them you won’t be late. They wave to you, their mouth still buried in the sweatshirt as they walk away. You take a moment to reflect on what else you have to do today before you go to the dinner. You decide you should probably put out a few more applications for jobs. You quit your job as a cashier at the local grocery store after your boss started extending your hours to the point that it was interfering with school. You had saved up a lot of money before you quit, but your funds were running a bit low, so you decided it was time to reapply for some jobs. You also decided to text your mom and make sure she still had plans to visit your aunt tonight. Fortunately, your mom still had full use of her left hand.

            You walk up to your car, an old import that looks like it’s more dinged than not at this point. But short of a flat tire on one occasion, the car hadn’t let you down in the past five year, so you had no reason to not love it. Not that you could really afford a better car right now. You hopped in the car and turned on the radio to the news for the short trip home. On long rides you liked to listen to your own music, but about a year ago you figured that listening to a bit of news now and again couldn’t hurt. Nothing new stood out though, so it was mainly just background music today. In a few minutes you’d arrived outside your small condo. It wasn’t huge, it wasn’t in the cleanest part of the suburbs, but it was yours (at least until the lease was up in 9 months).

             You walked inside and kicked off your shoes before flopping down on the couch. You decided to see what you could find on monster customs before the dinner tonight. Knowledge was power after all, and you figured the more prepared you were, the less of an ass you’d end up looking like. In your searching you found that, despite people’s interest in monsters, there was very little about their customs. And more surprisingly, there was even less information about their magic.

            When the monsters came out of the mountain, they made it very clear that yes, magic is very real. They said that monsters were the only ones able to use magic because they literally were magic. That and a small amount of physical matter, but only enough to make them solid. They told everyone that magic came from within, but that humanity had lost that ability many years ago. In fact, they said that the last seven mages gave their lives to lock the monsters away. Surprisingly, even when the King and Queen demonstrated their magic as floating balls of flames, no one really seemed to care. Even the rioters seemed to dismiss it as ‘illusions’ and ‘scare tactics’. The monsters themselves rarely used magic outside of their own businesses (and homes, you assumed) and only in the most dire of circumstances. So unfortunately, your search left you empty handed. No help with customs and no help with magic. You really would be going in blind on this one.

            You after your search, you spent the next few hours applying to different places online. Your mom had checked in with you and yes, your Aunt Rachel was still taking her out for dinner (how your father ended up as cold and selfish as he is confused you, considering how warm and inviting the rest of his family is).

            At around 5 you decided to get ready and start heading over. Turns out Frisks house was a lot closer to the original monster village than you had expected. When you finally go there, you were surprised by the size of the house. And not just that looked big on the outside, but the proportions seemed off. The door seemed too wide, the windows seemed large enough to fit a cow through them, and the dark purple mini-van in the driveway only had one seat in the front of it, as if the owner of the car was too big for regular seats. You took it in stride, glancing at the other car in the driveway. It was a bright red convertible, a bit flashy for your tastes, but after seeing the ‘COOLDUDE’ vanity plate, you figured flashy might have been the idea. Bracing yourself for the unexpected, you knocked on the door.

            The last thing you’d expected was a tall skeleton to open the door, pick you up in a bear hug and start shouting into the house. After adjusting to the volume, you could finally make out what he was saying.

            “-SO GOOD TO FINALLY MEET YOU! I’VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT YOU FROM FRISK. YOU MUST HAVE MADE SUCH A GREAT IMPRESSION ON THEM IF THEY WANTED YOU TO MEET ME!”

            “Yes, that’s why I’m here,” You say with what little air hasn’t been squeezed out of you. “If you let me down, I’d like to introduce myself.” Immediately you feel yourself dropped to the ground. “MY APOLOGIES, TALL HUMAN! I JUST GOT SO CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT, I FORGOT MY MANNERS. AS YOU MUST KNOW, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MASTER CHEF AND FORMER ALMOST ROYAL GUARDSMAN.”

            “My name is ___, it’s nice to… finally meet you!” Despite his initial greeting, you find yourself endeared to the tall skeleton. His attitude seems childish, but his overall enthusiasm and positivity is infectious. You find yourself grinning for no clear reason. He’s very clearly a skeleton, but his bones look closer to those of the skeletons in old movies than the bones you’ve seen in your biology classes. The only other thing that stands out is a red scarf that he wears almost like a cape. If you had to guess, Papyrus owns the convertible parked out front.

            “LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE REST OF THE GUESTS. UNFORTUNATELY, UNDYNE AND ALPHYS COULDN’T ATTEND, BUT I CAN STILL INTRODUCE YOU TO THE KING AND QUEEN. AND MY BROTHER, IF HE BOTHERS TO WAKE UP.” Papyrus proceeds to run down the hall, towards some of the other voices.

            Right. The King and Queen are Frisk’s parents, of course they’d live here. Suddenly much more self-conscious in your flannel shirt and jeans, you follow behind Papyrus. Again, you were in for a few surprises. First, the Dreemurrs were a lot taller than they looked on TV. Asgore, if you remembered his name correctly, was almost eight feet tall, if you counted his horns. His wife, Toriel, was only a few inches shorter than him. Second, they were dressed much differently than when they appeared on TV. Asgore was dressed in a floral shirt and khaki shorts that wouldn’t look out of place on a tropical island. Toriel was wearing a simple purple dress, but had a pair of glasses perched on her snout. You were immediately reminded of some elementary school librarians, the type that were kind and sweet until they caught you mishandling a book.

            Upon noticing you, Toriel stepped away from the stove and came over to introduce herself. “Hello there, I am Toriel, Frisk’s adoptive mother. It’s a pleasure to meet one of Frisk’s friends.” Her smile was warm and as she shook your hand, you could feel the soft pads of her hands under a bit of fur. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Your Majesty, Frisk talks about you a lot.” The memory of Frisk’s flirting story was still fresh in your head.

            “Hopefully only good things!” Toriel says with a small laugh. “And please, call me Toriel, I gave up that title many years ago.” You hear Asgore shift behind you.

            “Well you’ll always be a queen to me, Tori.” Asgore says with a certain tenderness in his voice. “Yes, well, that’s because you insist on using those titles whenever we make a public appearance.” Toriel replied, using just a bit more edge in her tone than seems necessary.

 _Guess there’s a bit of bad blood between them. I hope it doesn’t impact Frisk too much._ You think to yourself. As if on cue, you hear light footsteps and a voice coming down the steps.

            “Mom, were you being mean to Dad again?” Frisk asks as they walk into the kitchen. They’ve finally abandoned the overly baggy sweatshirt in exchange for a grey turtleneck and black tights. Toriel bends down and gives Frisk a hug. “Of course not, my child! Asgore and I just weren’t seeing eye to eye is all.” You hear Asgore let out a small cough, and Toriel glares daggers at him before letting Frisk go. You suddenly feel like you’re intruding. Fortunately, Frisk finally notices you. “Hey ___! I’m glad you could make it for dinner.” Frisk gives you a hug under your arms, and under their turtleneck, you can feel Frisk’s breasts pressed up against your chest. You start to feel the heat rise up your face. _Get a grip,_ you think to yourself. _This isn’t the first time you’ve been hugged by a girl before, and you’ve never gotten weird about it! Also, I guess this answers_ that _question._ Fortunately, the heat goes as quickly as it came, and Frisk doesn’t seem to notice anything different when they look at you.

            “Dinner won’t be ready for another half-hour, so why don’t you two wait out in the living room until I’m ready?” Toriel offers, as the kitchen isn’t very large and the two caprine monsters are taking up most of the space. Frisk nods and turns to you. “Want me to give you the grand tour?” Frisk asks you. “That’s fine with me.” You tell them. Frisk starts showing you around.

            Apparently Toriel and Asgore sleep in separate rooms, but whether it’s because of their disagreements or because of their sheer size is a mystery to you. Frisk is very quick to move past their room, which has the door shut. “It’s really messy, and pretty plain, there’s not a whole lot to show, they say off handedly. You continue to see the rest of the house, when you run into Papyrus in the office.

            “AH, HELLO FRISK AND TALL HUMAN. I’M SORRY I’VE BEEN ABSENT FROM THE KITCHEN. AS MUCH AS I’D LOVE TO COOK YOU A FABULOUS SPAGHETTI MEAL, MY LAZY BROTHER SANS HAS DISAPPEARED, WHICH IS VERY RUDE TO BOTH THEIR HIGHNESSES AND OUR NEW HUMAN GUEST. SO IT IS MY DUTY TO AS A GOOD GUEST TO RETRIEVE HIM. I MUST CONTINUE MY SEARCH, BUT IF YOU FIND HIM, PLEASE GIVE HIM A STERN TALKING TO. And with that, Papyrus bolted out of the room. Frisk sighed into their hand.

            “You’d think by now, Papyrus would realize that Sans only gets found when he wants to be found. He’s probably waiting to talk to me alone so can find out why he wasn’t told that you’d be showing up.” You didn’t like the sound of that at all.

            “Does Sans not like other humans? Other than you of course.” Frisk rolls their eyes. “Yeah, something like that. Listen, I hate to do this, but do you mind hanging out for a bit while I go to my room? I’m sure if I’m there he’ll show up to talk to me.” You give Frisk a noncommittal shrug. “It doesn’t bother me either way. Mind if I sit on the back porch for a bit?” Frisk shakes their head and walks off to their room. You head out towards the back and take a seat on the porch. The cool night air settles your nerves a little bit. _What is my problem tonight? I feel so defensive, but they’ve given me no reason to be. Frisk is as nice as ever, Toriel and Asgore have been kind to me right off the bat, and I doubt Papyrus has a mean bone in his body! (Heh. Bone. ) So why the hell am I so on edge??_ Had you been slightly less focused on your current state, you might have noticed a short, round skeleton appear out of the corner of your eye. You didn’t notice him until he was a couple inches from you, and it took all of your effort not to jump out of your seat in surprise. They were right. Sans had been waiting for Frisk leave. But not so he could talk to them. Sans wanted to talk to you.

            “what? never seen a talking skeleton before?” Sans said, his small white eye lights and perma-smile only a few inches from your face. You swallow your initial surprise and treat the situation as normally as possible. “I already met Papyrus, so I’m guessing you’re Sans, right?”

            “in the flesh.” Sans replies, with a look on his face that’s almost taunting you to correct him. You decide not to rise to it. “Papyrus was looking for you earlier. Did you let him know you’re here?” “nope. figured you and I could have a little chat first.” Sans takes a seat on the chair next to you, never breaking eye contact with you. “i heard you only just met frisk a couple days ago, and they’ve already invited you over for dinner.” Sans chuckles lightly. “seems like you and frisk are becoming fast friends. very fast friends.” You give Sans an innocent look. “There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?” The lights in Sans’ eyes go out.

            “i’ll be blunt. i don’t trust humans. and i certainly don’t trust humans around frisk. you all have your own plans and agendas, and _tibia_ honest, i think you just want to use frisk. but-” You cut Sans off and jab a finger at his chest.

            “Look, you don’t have to trust me. Hell, you don’t have to like me. But I don’t have any _secret plans_ or anything of the sort. And the fact that you’ve decided to go around judging-”One of Sans’ eyes flares blue, and you feel like your knees are giving out, but your frustration with Sans helps you block it out “-people behind the backs of your friends says a lot about you! In fact I’d say that’s a very _human_ thing for you to be doing!” All at once, three things happen. First, the doors to the house open, and you can see Frisk’s body silhouetted against the light from the house. Second, the pressure in your legs becomes too much, and you feel yourself hit much harder than you expected. And third, you finally notice a small yellow light by your chest before it flashes out of existence. And then the world starts to spin and go black.

 

********************************************************

            You were on the couch. How you knew that and how you got there was a mystery. Those questions could be answered later. Right now you were just trying to regain consciousness. You could hear voices talking around you.

            “ARE YOU SURE THE HUMAN WILL BE ALRIGHT YOUR MAJESTY?”

            “I’m sure they’ll be fine, adult humans are much tougher than any monster. That being said, they may need some bed rest before they feel fully better. And again Papyrus, I truly do prefer Toriel. Now Frisk, what happened between those two?”

             “I’m not totally sure. All I know is that Sans was hiding, then when I tried to wait for him to come out and talk to me, he didn’t show up. I heard them yelling outside, and that’s when I got there. All I saw was ___ hit the ground, and Sans disappearing. And He’s not in the house.”

            “Oh I’d be willing to bet one-hundred gold that I know exactly where he is. Honestly, using magic on a human? It’s like he wants us to get put Underground again! Asgore! Call Grillby right now and tell him to make sure Sans stays put. Tell him I’ll pay Sans’ whole tab if he can keep that bonehead there!”

            “Geez Mom, I haven’t seen you this mad since Dad tried to-”

            “Hush child, that’s not exactly a conversation we should be having right now.”

            “Mom? I think Sans tried to fight him. I think Sans brought out his SOUL.”

            Well that woke you up. “My what-now?” You mumble, the room spinning beneath you. You can hear Frisk putting their hands to their head. “Of course he’d wake up in time to hear that…” You can feel Toriel’s palm on your shoulder, stopping you from sitting up any farther.

            “Please my child, I know you must be upset, but you’ve just been injured. At least drink this tea before you try to get up.” You’ve never been a fan of hot drinks, but the tea goes down smooth. It stops your head from spinning, which lets you focus on your legs, which feel like they’re on fire. You look down at your shins, and a bitter taste shoots up your throat. Your shins near your knees have ballooned to twice their original size, and any attempt to bend your knee is met with sharp jolts of pain.

            “What the hell happened out there?” You mumble. Toriel opened her mouth, but promptly closed it. “You and Sans got into it.” Frisk tells you. “He decided to use his magic, you decided to fight it. Your leg muscles were under too much pressure, and you tore some of them. You passed out, Papyrus carried you to the couch, and Mom reattached your muscles. That being said, you still lost some blood, and you’re going to be off your feet for a few days.” You take a moment to process this. _Well good job dumbass, you were the one who wanted to see magic. And now you got it used on you twice in less than an hour! Nice going! At least you weren’t on any sports scholarships. And speaking of magic…_

            “So what was that bit about my soul?” No one was even willing to make eye contact with you. _Fine, time to do things the hard way_. “Frisk?” You ask, making sure to look them in the eye. “Can we talk, outside?” Frisk looks at Toriel, and she nods her head. Frisk lets out a sigh. “Alright. Papyrus, can you bring them outside?” Silently, Papyrus scoops you off the couch, and places you on one of the lounge chairs on the porch. Once he’s back inside, you turn to Frisk.

            “Look, I’m not mad,” Frisk raises an eyebrow at you skeptically. “Well I’m pissed at Sans. But he deserves it. I mean what the hell is his problem!?” Frisk looks out into the backyard.

            “Well I guess that’s as good a place to start as any.” Frisk sighs. “So Sans is kind of my, uh, ex-boyfriend…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho boy, whole lotta notes here. So first things first. This fic will rarely take anything from my own life in the story. However, Reader's situation with their mother is pretty close to mine. Not the Dad, just the Mom. It won't pop up too much, but this is what grounds the reader back to humanity. There's no escaping it. Just like in real life. 
> 
> Yes, I'm sure someone is thinking WTF Reader for spying on their dad like that. I do too a bit. But reader was pissed. And a teen. So cut them some slack, huh?
> 
> Back to the story. Yes, Frisk was born female. Yes, at this moment, Frisk prefers neutral pronouns over feminine. Will it change? Maybe? Who knows.(Not me, thats for sure)
> 
> And yes, there will be no present skeleton smooching in this fic. At least not by Frisk or Reader. 
> 
> Thats all at the moment. I planned to write more, but I can feel my eyes drooping as I write this. Thanks for reading!


	4. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and the Reader have a long talk concerning monsters, magic, and themselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part is from Frisk's POV up until the:  
> *****************************************  
> Enjoy!

            Frisk’s night had been going well. ____ seemed to like your parents and Papyrus, and the three of them seemed thrilled to have a new guest in the house. Of course, you were expecting Sans’ freak out. While you had been dating, Sans had always been overprotective. You liked it at first, finding that someone could care for you that much. But Sans went too far, distancing you from your friends, and appearing out of thin air the moment you came into any sort of conflict. Hell, Sans even showed up when an older cashier looked at you funny. Granted, you did decide to dye half of your hair purple so the odd look wasn’t unjustified, but it was still a bit rude.

            And when you confronted him about this, he’d bring up the Underground again. You knew he wasn’t trying to guilt trip you when he talked about his fears of your….abilities, but those fights always left a bad taste in your mouth. You had only been dating him for a few months before you broke up with him a week before your 18th birthday, but now, even a year later, he was still acting like it was his job to protect you from everyone and everything in the world. You had made your way through the Underground just fine when you were ten, and that was filled with monsters that wanted your SOUL. You could take care of yourself just fine. You were determined to.

******************************************************************

            Once Frisk told you that Sans was her ex, they went silent for a bit. You had no idea what their relationship was like back then and how it was now that they weren’t together, but you didn’t feel like pushing the matter. So you focused on your knees. Surprisingly, it seemed the swelling was already going down.

            Before you and Frisk went outside, Toriel had told Papyrus to bring you another cup of tea once he had moved you. She had explained that the tea had magic in it, which would fuel the lingering healing magic in your legs. You decided to take another sip of the tea, and this time you noticed it. It felt like small bugs were crawling under your skin, but the pain in your legs seemed to almost instantly vanish. After a minute the crawling sensation vanished, and the pain was back to a lesser degree. Frisk must have noticed you staring at your legs after sipping the tea, because you heard them speak before you took another sip.

            “It takes a little getting used to the feeling,” Frisk comments, pointing to your legs. “But trust me, an injury like that would have put you in the hospital for a week, so I’d say this is a preferable alternative.” You take another drink of tea before saying anything. “Have you ever been healed like this before?” You ask, the crawling sensation returning once more. Frisk looks out into the backyard before replying.

            “Only once. I was climbing a tree while Papyrus and I were playing hide and seek. I was eleven at the time. He found me as I was climbing; I got startled and fell out of the tree. By the time I went to bed my arm was fine, but Mom made me keep it in a sling and barely let me look at a tree for the next month.” Frisk says with a playful grin. You can see it in your head, Toriel trying to steer a young Frisk away from anything that looks even remotely climbable. You laugh at the thought.

            “I’m really sorry Sans hurt you, I should have told you about him before you came over.” You look over at Frisk and see them playing with the bottom of their turtleneck, seemingly avoiding your gaze. “Monsters never try to hurt people, Sans is one of the few exceptions. Plus, I doubt he actually meant to hurt you. I think he just wanted to scare you.” Frisk finally looks up at you. “Papyrus is worried that you’ll think less of us. I’m sure Dad is looking for some way to try to make this up to you.” Frisk’s statement surprises you. At first, you feel almost a little flattered. The monsters don’t owe you a thing, and this wasn’t anyone else’s fault but Sans. And honestly, you’d be pretty content with even a half-assed apology. But the look on Frisk’s face tells you that there’s more to this than just you.

            “Frisk, are they worried that I’ll say something to the media?” Frisk just gives you a somber look. You try to get out of your seat, but Frisk jumps up before you can. “What are you doing?? Mom told you not to put any pressure on your legs, remember?” Frisk scolds you, standing over you with their arms crossed. You can tell you won’t be winning this argument.

            “I just wanted to tell them they can stop worrying, ok? I’m not going to run and tell the media about the ‘big scary monsters’, ok? Sans just had a temper tantrum, that’s all it was.” You lean back into the chair, realizing that you won’t be leaving it anytime soon. “I know you wouldn’t say anything.” Frisk replies, but you can see their shoulders relax just slightly. “Speaking of temper tantrums, what _were_ you two yelling about anyway?”

            “Oh, I think Sans was trying to scare me. Whether it was from the dinner or you, I can’t really tell,” You say. “Starting rambling about ‘sneaky humans’ or something like that, so I called him out on judging people before getting to know them and told him that he was acting like a human.”

            Frisk cringes slightly when you tell them this. “Wow.” They say as they rub their neck. “You pushed, like, all of his buttons at once. No wonder he got so pissed at you.” You start to feel a little bit guilty when they tell you this. Frisk seems to notice the change on your face.

            “I never said he didn’t deserve it,” Frisk tells you. “I’m really more surprised that you managed to get in his face about it while he was using his magic on you. Sans is never really…gentle with his magic.” Frisk’s wording worries you for a moment. “Frisk, Sans never hurt you, did he?”

            “Sans could be a dick, but he was never abusive.” Frisk said to you. You felt like they were telling the truth, but that they were also leaving something you. As much as you wanted to press the subject, you knew that they weren’t going to say anything if they didn’t want to. So you let it drop, and moved on to your next question.

            “So what can you tell me about magic? And not just the stuff your parents told the news, like what can magic really do?” You ask. “Other than break my legs and then promptly fix them.” You add sarcastically. Frisk sticks their tongue out at you in response. “Honestly, you’re asking a pretty big question.” They tell you. “There are a lot of complexities to magic, and Mom hasn’t finished teaching me everything yet. One thing I do know is that by the time a monster matures, they have a full understanding their magic. They don’t have to be taught, since magic is what they’re made of. But it’s hard for them to explain it, unless they’ve actually made the effort to study their magic. Mom studied magic years ago, that’s why she’s the one teaching me.” You nod in understanding. “And what about humans?” You ask them. “Can we use magic?” Frisk bites their lip at this question.

            “Umm, I think that’s a question for my mom. They’re kind of picky when it comes to telling humans about magic.” You let out a huff in frustration. “Ok, fine. Then how did they get trapped Underground?” Frisk casts you an irritated look.

            “Fine,” They mutter to themselves. “Back me into a corner why don’t you…” Frisk turns to you and looks you right in the eye. “You can’t repeat this to any other humans. Hell, it might be a good idea to not tell any other monsters you know this, other than my parents. Especially not Sans.” They hold up their pinky to you. “You have to promise.”

            You’re about to laugh at the idea of a pinky promise keeping you from spilling one of Monsterkind’s biggest secrets, but then you see the look on Frisk’s face. You can tell that they’re absolutely serious, so you put on a straight face and start taking the situation seriously. Plus, you wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt the monsters. You grab Frisk’s pinky in yours. And they begin to tell you about the Mages.

            The story that the Dreemurrs told the press was that the monsters themselves were the ones that erected the barrier hundreds of years ago, and they brought it down when they thought that humanity had progressed enough.  They said it was to keep themselves safe from the humans who believed them to be evil spirits or demons. In truth, the barrier was erected by humans who could use magic. Frisk tells you that the only way a human can learn magic is from a monster.

            “So they were betrayed by their own allies. That’s disgusting.” You could practically feel your blood boiling at this point. Over the years, you’d found yourself becoming less and less forgiving of people that used and manipulated others. The only time you ever found those acts acceptable was when they were used to bring the liars, cheaters and traitors to justice. Sure, it was a bit hypocritical, but you’d be willing to be called a hypocrite if it meant someone received the proper punishment for their crime. But Frisk tells you that the mages weren’t traitors in the purest sense.

            The monsters were getting killed, with numbers in the hundreds being killed off each day. So the human mages offered the monsters an opportunity. They could save the remaining monsters by cutting them off from the world, but the monsters would be stuck under the mountain. Faced with extinction or imprisonment, the monsters chose imprisonment. Unfortunately, only the mages could break the barrier, and humans feared mages even more than they did monsters. Apparently Asgore did some research into what happened to the mages, and it turns out that they were all killed within a year of the barrier being erected.

            “So wait, how did they actually break the barrier? Did they teach you magic to help them break it?” You ask. Your head was still swimming from all this new information, but you were so curious. You felt like you were about to burst with excitement.

            “I’ll answer those questions later, but first I need to show you something. How are your legs feeling?” You put a bit of weight on your legs, and while they still hurt, they seem to have almost fully healed. “I think I can get myself inside. What do you need to show me?” Frisk starts heading towards the door.

            “Wait!” You say. Frisk turns around and gives you an odd look. _God, I’m probably about to make a real ass of myself, but I want to get this straightened out._ “Ok, so if you don’t want to talk about this, that’s fine by me and I totally understand. But I noticed you don’t seem like you want to be referred to as one gender over another. I just want to be sure that I don’t say anything to offend you.” Frisk stares at out for a moment, as if they’re not sure what to make of you, then cracks a wide grin. They walk back over to you and give you a hug. Now you’re really confused…

            “You’re the first human I’ve met that actually seems to care about how I want to be addressed,” Frisk says, finally breaking the hug. “Most people just want to assign their own labels to people, but I just want to be me. To answer any questions you may have, I am a woman and I have been since birth. I used to go by neutral pronouns only, but I’m fine with you using feminine pronouns, ok?” Frisk sticks her tongue out at you and asks, “Does that make you feel better?” You give her a shrug.

            “Honestly, I just didn’t want to offend you is all.” You tell her. Frisk nods in understanding. “Anything I need to know about you?” You shake your head in response. “Not really, I’m a man and I identify as a man.” You tell Frisk. You crack a mischievous smile at her.  “Plus I’ve got a dick like a-” Frisk covers her ears and turns around, not willing to look at you.

            “LALALA, CAN’T HEAR YOU,” She shouts, sending you into a fit of laughter. “Honestly, was that necessary?” Your laughter is all the answer she gets, and soon you’re alone on the porch.

            You hobble in behind her, and are surprised to see Toriel is still awake, sitting in an armchair reading a book. When she sees you she gets up and walks over to you.

            “You’ve just been hurt, you should still be resting!” Toriel’s concern for you brings a smile to your face, and you give her a quick, reassuring hug. “I’m doing fine Toriel, thanks to your healing. I feel much better than I did earlier.” You take a seat on the couch next to her armchair. Frisk comes over and sits next to you on the couch.

            “Where did Dad and Papyrus go?” Frisk asks. Toriel’s smile is quickly replaced with a sour look. “They left an hour ago to deal with Sans. The last I heard, Sans got drunk and will be spending the night at Grillby’s.” Toriel turns to face you. “I can’t begin to apologize enough for Sans’ behavior, what he did was absolutely unacceptable. I-” You cut Toriel off before she can apologize any more.

            “Look, like I told Frisk, I’m really not upset. Also, I don’t want anyone to worry about me telling other humans that Sans used his magic on me. That’d just get all of you in trouble, and that’s the last thing I want.” Toriel lets out a sigh of relief. “That’s very kind of you, my child. I’m sure it’ll be a burden off of Asgore’s mind as well. Now that I know you’re well, I plan on heading to bed soon. And I insist that you not drive home just yet.” You pause for a moment, but ultimately nod your head in agreement.

            “Mom, before we go to bed, I need help with the… you know.” Frisk says. Toriel’s smile drops a bit. “Oh, of course. ____, when you were arguing with Sans, did you see anything strange?”

            “Other than a fat skeleton trying to pancake me with his mystical eyeball? Nope, nothing out of the ordinary.” You hear Frisk bite back a laugh, and Toriel raises an unamused eyebrow in your direction. _I guess she doesn’t appreciate my sarcasm_ , you think to yourself. You remember a flash of light before you pass out, and you do tell Toriel about that. She nods her head and looks at your chest.

            “You may find this hard to believe, but that was your SOUL.” You remember Frisk mentioning it earlier. A hundred questions are bouncing around your head, but you decide to let Toriel finish talking. “Now ____, do I have your permission to show you your SOUL?” You consider Toriel’s question odd, but you’re far too interested at this point to be worried. “Sure, go right ahead.” You tell her.

            “Alright, take a deep breath,” Toriel tells you. “This may feel a bit strange.” You take a deep breath as Toriel holds her paw up to your chest. Frisk has moved from the couch to sitting on the arm of Toriel’s chair. You see Toriel’s paw flash green, and suddenly you feel like a warm, damp t-shirt is being pulled off of your chest. With a flash of yellow light, a waxy, yellow heart appears in front of your chest. You’re at a loss for words.

            “This is your SOUL.” Frisk tells you. “It’s the culmination of all your memories, thoughts, and your entire personality. And it’s the source of magic, for both humans and monsters. Only human SOULs have colors though.” Taking a closer look at the heart, you can see is three dimensional, and has no sharp edges.

            “So why is it yellow?” You ask Frisk. “The colors relate to primary personality traits.” Frisk tells you. “Yellow stands for Justice. All that means is that when you’re put in a difficult situation, usually your primary instinct will be to follow your own moral compass. Your SOUL color doesn’t define you, it just gives a hint as to what you’re like as a person.” _Good,_ you think to yourself _I’d hate for my whole personality to boil down to a color._ Despite how bright the SOUL itself is, it doesn’t seem to be putting off much light. You mention this to Toriel.

            “That’s perfectly normal. That coating you see has to do with whether you can access the magic of your SOUL. Like yours, most human SOULs have that dull coating for their entire lives. That coat disappears after a human has been exposed to a great amount of magic. From then on their SOUL becomes shiny, and that tells us that we’re dealing with a mage.” You look over at Frisk, who has been looking at your SOUL very intently. Suddenly feeling very exposed, you ask Toriel if she can put your SOUL back into your body. Toriel agrees, but before she can, Frisk grabs her hand. “Mom wait, look closer.”

            Toriel leans in and looks at the spot Frisk is pointing to on the top part of your SOUL. You see what looks like a small bit of flaking, not so different from a scale on an old snake skin. Toriel lets out a hiss of anger.

            “I’m going to give that skeleton an earful tomorrow. Not only did he use his magic violently, but now look what he’s done!” You look at your SOUL, worried about what it means. You look at Frisk, but they seem to be having a hard time holding back a smile.

            “What’s going on? Am I sick or something?” You ask Frisk. She shakes her head and holds up a finger. “Watch this.” She blows lightly across the top of your SOUL, and a bolt of cold shoots down your spine. “Dammit Frisk, what was that for?” You cry out indignantly. Frisk points back to the spot on your SOUL. “Take a closer look!” You lean in, and notice that a tiny patch of the waxy coating has disappeared. All that remains is what was underneath: a shining yellow surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've gone ahead and decided to make Frisk decidedly female. Hope I handled that well.
> 
> Magic will be explained in more detail in later chapters as necessary.
> 
> Um, I think that's it. Maybe.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Readers day with the Dreemurrs

            After seeing the shiny new spot on your SOUL, Toriel finally let it return to your body. When it rejoined you, it sent a wave of warmth through your chest. Toriel finally sat down in her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose.

            “Frisk, would you be so kind as to make me some tea? It’s been a very long night.” Frisk nods and heads off to the kitchen, leaving you and Toriel in silence. “I suppose I should explain my frustration to you.” Toriel says sadly.

            “Is this about the mages? From before you were trapped Underground?” Toriel nods before speaking. “I take it Frisk told you about our history with the mages.” She sighs, her mind lost in the memories of a time before the barrier. “This is why we have been so careful not to use our magic on humans. We were very lucky all those years ago that none of the mages had bad intentions in their hearts. My deepest fears would be realized if a human with ill intent managed to access their magic.” You opened your mouth to say something, but before you could, you heard the front door open as Papyrus and Asgore got back from their search for Sans. Upon seeing you awake, Papyrus runs over and picks you up in yet another bear hug.

            “OH HUMAN, IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE THAT YOU’RE UP AGAIN. I CAN’T BEGIN TO EXPRESS MY FRUSTRATION WITH SANS. HOW COULD HE DO THIS TO MY NEW FRIEND? WE WERE GOING TO HAVE SUCH A FUN NIGHT TOO! I HAD MANY GREAT PUZZLES SET UP FOR US TO BOND OVER.” You couldn’t help but smile at this. You were sure that Papyrus was like this to everyone he met, but that didn’t make you any less pleased to hear him say that. “Hey, that just means I have another reason for use to hang out later!” Papyrus’ already huge grin manages to get even bigger. “OF COURSE, I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT. WE CAN DO THE PUZZLES TOMORROW AFTERNOON! PLUS, YOU GET THE CHANCE TO TRY MY FANTASTIC PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST.” You hadn’t planned on staying very long tomorrow, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to say no to Papyrus. Though, you still needed a blanket if you were going to spend the night on the couch.

            “Excuse me, Toriel?” She had been talking to Asgore in a low voice, but turned to you when you called for her. “Is there a blanket I can use while I spend the night? I already have a pillow, if I’m allowed to use this one.” You pat the pillow that you’ve been leaning against. Papyrus cuts in before Toriel has a chance to reply.

            “YOU CAN USE MY BED, TALL HUMAN. I’M SURE YOU’LL FIND IT MORE COMFORTABLE THAN THE COUCH. PLUS, IT’S EASILY THE COOLEST BED IN THE HOUSE. NYEH HEH HEH!” You try to tell Papyrus that you’ll be fine on the couch, but he won’t hear a word of it. You eventually give in, realizing that he will not take no as an answer. “EXCELLENT! I WILL GO PREPARE IT FOR YOU.” And just like that, Papyrus is down to hall and out of sight. Frisk finally gets back from making Toriel tea, handing her a cup and sitting down on the arm of Toriel’s chair once more. The two goat monsters have stopped talking to each other, both of them looking at Frisk before looking back to you.

            “____,” Asgore says to you. “Toriel has explained the situation to me, concerning the status of your SOUL. I understand that this development is not your fault, but it could put us in a very bad position. At this point in time, we are concerned that your SOUL may finish shedding its outer coat regardless of whether you are exposed to any more magic. For reasons she has explained to you, we would rather keep humans from developing any magical abilities at all.” You absolutely understand their situation. The worry is practically visible in the old monsters’ eyes.

            “Do you have any ideas on how you want to handle this?” You ask. At this, Frisk pulls at their mother’s sleeve and whispers something in her ear. Whatever she said, Toriel frowns at it. “I’m not sure that’s very wise,” She says while looking down on Frisk. Frisk crosses her arms and frowns at the matronly goat.

            “You’re already teaching me how to use my magic, why can’t you teach them too?” You perk upon hearing this. Not only does it tell you that Frisk can use magic, but that with some training, you might be able to as well. You try to keep their face neutral as the Dreemurrs begin to argue between themselves. Frisk wants you to learn how to access your magic, while Toriel seems to think that it’s far too early to teach you magic. Asgore is silent for a moment before holding a hand up for silence. When he gets the desired result, he looks down at you.

            “Human, if we are even to consider teaching you how to access and use your magic, I feel as though you should know what you’re getting into. If we decide to teach you, and you agree to our terms, you’d become one of us. That means that the hardships of our race would become your hardships too. Understand?” You nod silently. “Good,” Asgore says before continuing. “And if you choose to turn down our offer, and use what happened here to cause harm to my people, be it directly or indirectly….” Asgore doesn’t finish his sentence. And he doesn’t have to; you can see in his eyes that he would crush you in the blink of an eye if you ever caused harm to any of his people.

            “I understand, Asgore,” You say calmly, before turning to Frisk and Toriel. “If you’d be willing, I’d gladly accept a chance to learn about magic. And I don’t think I could ever bring myself to hurt any of you. You’ve shown me nothing but kindness and warmth since I’ve gotten here, and I can’t thank you enough for that.” Your three hosts smile as you say this. Toriel gets out of her chair before speaking to you.

            “Very well, I will teach you about magic alongside Frisk. Normally Frisk and I just do our lessons when we have a spare moment, but I’ll try to set up a schedule for them from now on.” She smiles at you before letting out a yawn. “And with that, I will be heading out to bed. Goodnight, you three.” Frisk and Asgore both start heading to their respective rooms before you get a chance to ask where Papyrus usually sleeps. So, you wander down the hallway before finding Papyrus sitting in what you assume is the guest room, but instead of a standard bed is a red racecar bed. You let Papyrus know that it really is the coolest bed in the house, and he fervently agrees with you before wishing you good night and heading back into the living room. You barely manage to strip down to your boxers and undershirt and crawl under the covers before the day’s events cause you to fall asleep faster than you have in years.

*********************************************************

            When you finally wake up, you realize that you aren’t in your own bed. Yesterday’s events come flooding back to you, making you remember that you spent the night as the Dreemurrs’ guest. You also realize that you’re actually not alone. Frisk is curled up next to you, her head nestled under the crook of your arm. You don’t even get a chance to fully absorb this before there’s a knock on the door. _Please be Papyrus,_ you plead to any higher power that’s in the mood to listen.

            “Come in,” You say, trying not to be too loud out of fear of waking Frisk. Fortunately, your prayers have been heard, as the tall, lanky skeleton pokes his head inside. “HUMAN, HAVE YOU – oh, I’m sorry,” He says, his voice dropping to a near whisper when he sees Frisk still asleep. You motion Papyrus over, and he kneels down by your side of the bed.

            “Papyrus, you’ve got to help me out,” You whisper. “I have no idea when Frisk got in here, but I need you to help move her. I don’t want her parents to get the wrong idea if they see us like… this.” You say, motioning to your current situation. Frisk’s head is on your arm, and while it’s not uncomfortable, any attempt to move it might wake Frisk up. And that could be awkward, to put it lightly. Papyrus lets out a soft chuckle.

            “Do not fret, Frisk does this quite often. I believe she has recurring nightmares, and will usually climb into someone else’s bed to help calm herself down after one. I’m sure the King and Queen are fully aware of this. As for Frisk, just let her sleep. I’m sure things will be fine!” Papyrus winks at you before heading to the door.

            “Papyrus!” You hiss, “Don’t leave me like this!” The skeleton just waves before shutting the door, leaving you and Frisk alone once again. You take a moment to look at Frisk, never having a chance to really do so before now. Her long, brown hair is laying on part of their face, and you tuck it behind their ear before looking taking in the rest of her face. Having finally had a chance to see her face carefully, you begin to see that what you passed off as average was, in your opinion, rather cute. Her small nose complimented her mouth, which even in sleep had a tiny smile on in. Her skin was only a few shades lighter than her hair, and from what you could feel on your arm, both were very soft.

            Laying there, you felt an odd warmth coming from your stomach. Despite only knowing Frisk for a short time, you found yourself getting very attached to your new friend. _That’s right, she’s your_ friend _. Just that, nothing more. So quit it with the sappy looks,_ you think to yourself. Before your inner voice could scold you any more, Frisk began to stir. When she opened her eyes and saw you, it took her a moment before she realized where she was.

            “Oh, uh, hey ___,” Frisk said meekly, picking her head off of your arm. “Listen, I-” You hold up your hand to cut her off. “Papyrus already told me that this happens,” You say, opting to get out of bed and get dressed. “He told me you have nightmares, is that what happened?” Frisk pauses before nodding. “Do you want to talk about it?” Frisk shakes her head. “Ok, but if you ever do want to talk, I’m just a phone call away, alright?” Frisk nods before getting up herself.

            “Will do.” She says, but you’re not sure if she actually means that or if she’s just saying that to get you off her back. “Alright,” You tell her, “I’m going to get pancakes, I’m starving. Should I tell Papyrus to start making you some as well?” Frisk’s face lights up at the mention of pancakes.

            “Yes please!” She says enthusiastically. “Just let him know I’ll be there in five minutes, ok?” You tell her you’ll let him know, before heading to the kitchen yourself. Papyrus already has a plate of pancakes for you. You scarf down your stack before asking him what the plan for the day is.

            “WELL I WAS GOING TO TEST YOUR PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS, BUT HER MAJESTY-I MEAN TORIEL- SAID THAT IT MIGHT BE TOO SOON AFTER YESTERDAYS INCIDENT TO TEST YOU WITH PUZZLES JUST YET. SO UNFORTUNATELY, I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO.” Papyrus really did look sad that you weren’t able to do the puzzles today, but you were glad that Toriel did say something to him. You weren’t sure you had enough energy today to deal with whatever Papyrus had planned for you.

            “Hey, there’s a park not too far from here, we could spend a little time there instead. How does that sound?” Papyrus’ enthusiasm returns as quickly as it had disappeared. “THAT SOUNDS AMAZING! FRISK! WILL YOU BE JOINING US AT THE PARK TODAY?” Frisk had just walked into the kitchen, a predatory look in their eye when they saw the pancakes that were being cooked.

            “Of course I will, Paps.” Frisk replies. Papyrus lets out a cheer before setting a stack of pancakes in front of Frisk. Her plate is completely clean in under two minutes.

*********************************************************************

            As much as you liked being at the park, you never got there to go there as much as you would like. When you were younger, your mom used to take you down here to watch the ducks in the pond. She always let you bring a few crackers and feed the ducks whenever you came here. So before you left Frisk’s house, you asked if she could bring a bag of crackers with her. You figured that Papyrus would enjoy feeding the ducks. You couldn’t have been more right.

            “WATER BIRDS,” you heard Papyrus yell, “I HAVE COME TO BRING YOU TASTY TREATS!” Papyrus crumbled some crackers, and within a minute had half a dozen ducks surrounding him. You and Frisk were sitting on a bench nearby.

            “That was a great idea, showing Papyrus how to feed the ducks.” Frisk said, smiling as another two ducks made their way to the ecstatic skeleton. You shrugged. “I always liked feeding the ducks, so I figured Papyrus would get a real kick out of it too.” There was a comfortable silence between the two of you, which neither of you disturbed for a while. Finally, you spoke up.

            “Thanks for having me over this weekend, I had a great time.” You said with sincerity. Frisk lets out a small snort. “If having your muscles torn by a tiny skeleton is your idea of a great time, remind me not to come to any of your parties.” Frisk replies, sarcasm dripping from her voice. You poke her side, which elicits a small squeak from Frisk, followed by her hitting your arm.

            “You know what I mean. But now that you mention it, I guess I didn’t get a chance to actually have dinner with you all. Since I was all passed out at the moment.” Frisk laughs at that. “Yeah, that kind of makes having dinner a bit difficult, doesn’t it?” She comments. You both sit there for a moment, wrapped up in your respective thoughts.

            “Why don’t we try this whole dinner thing again?” You offer. “We could go to a restaurant instead, my treat.” Frisk looks at you with a cocked eyebrow. “Are you asking me out on a date?” You go to protest, but stop yourself. The warmth in your stomach from earlier was back. _That really wasn’t the idea. I honestly wanted to just go out as friends. I mean she’s sweet and funny and has a great sense of humor, so why not make it a date?_ At the thought of a date with Frisk, the warm spot got even hotter. _Yep, good job ___,_ you think to yourself. _You’ve got it really bad._ You look Frisk in the eye and grin.

            “If you want it to be a date, I’d like that. And if not, no big deal. We can still be friends.” Frisk sits there for a moment in silence. She then turns to you, with a little pink in her cheeks and a smile on her face. “I think I’d like that,” She says to you quietly. You hardly manage to contain your excitement.

            “Great! I mean great. So uh, when do you want to do this? Oh, and do you have any allergies that I need to know about? I don’t want to us to go somewhere and have you be-” Frisk puts a finger over your lips. “You’re rambling, you know that, right?” Frisk says, looking entirely too pleased with herself. The heat in your gut immediately shoots up to your face. Frisk breaks out into giggles.

            “You should see yourself right now! You’re redder than a tomato!” You poke back at her side, causing her curl up to protect her sides. After a few minutes of this, you both settle down from your fits of laughter. Frisk asks you, “Did you really mean it, when you said we could be friends if I said no?” You frown at her.

            “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” Frisk shrugs at you. “You might have just been trying to be polite.” She replies.

            “Would you have actually said yes just to not hurt my feelings? What, were you worried that I was gonna revert back to my middle school days and listen to break up songs while crying myself to sleep?” You say teasingly. Frisk just rolls her eyes. “God knows we don’t need that.” She mutters. You start singing horribly off key.

            “Tell me what it takes to let you gooooo!” You wail. Frisk starts laughing, covers her ears and runs over to Papyrus. “Papyruuus! He’s being mean to me! Make him stop!” Frisk yells. You start chasing her, continuing your intentionally awful singing.

            “Tell me how the pain’s supposed to gooooo!”

            You were enjoying yourself _far_ too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reader is singing the chorus of "What It Takes" by Aerosmith
> 
> I'm trying to keep the pacing good, not too slow and not too fast. Hopefully I'm doing that well.
> 
> So most of my writing over the past 5 chapters has been mostly exposition and plot placement. I think I wrapped most of that up in this chapter, so expect some more fluff. 
> 
> And again, thanks for reading!


	6. More Than You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's date night! And nothing is ever simple.

            You need to get out and exercise more. Sure, you did a fair amount of walking just getting around the city, but at the moment you could feel the sweat clinging to your clothes as you tried to keep up with Papyrus. He was still excited from feeding the ducks that he didn’t realize he was outpacing the two less energetic humans. Halfway through the walk back to the Dreemurrs’, Frisk had given up and asked him to carry her the rest of the way home.

            “C’mon Pap, please? I’m already jogging just to keep up with you!” Frisk had pleaded between breaths. Papyrus tutted at her, but squatted down so she could climb on his back. “VERY WELL, BUT YOU SHOULD TRY TO BE MORE LIKE THE TALL HUMAN! THEY ARE KEEPING UP WITH ME NO PROBLEM! Either Papyrus was being incredibly nice to you, or he didn’t realize that sucking wind was a bad thing. Lucky for you, having a passenger slowed him down just enough to let you relax a little. Papyrus started talking about all the other animals he saw at the park. From his enthusiasm, you guessed that the Underground had been fairly devoid of wildlife.

            “You know Pap, there’s an aquarium about an hour’s drive from here. We could go one of these weekends if you’d like.” Frisk tells him. “I’D LOVE THAT! DO YOU THINK THEY’D LET ME FEED THE FISH?”

            As Frisk explained to Papyrus that it may not work that way, your mind turns to the date you had planned with Frisk. You’d both decided not to mention anything to Papyrus, opting to see how it went before telling anyone. This would be the first date you’d been on since your freshman year. Back then, you’d dated around a bit, but nothing ever really stuck. Whether it was conflicting schedules, differing opinions, or just a general lack of lasting mutual interest, you’d never been on more than three dates with the same person.

            While you were lost in thought, the three of you had arrived at the Dreemurrs’ driveway. Frisk had barely jumped off Papyrus’ back before she was picked up into a hug. “FRISK, IT WAS GREAT SEEING YOU AGAIN,” Papyrus said. “It was great seeing you too, Papyrus! I’ll call you about the aquarium, ok?” Frisk replied, giving the skeleton a hug before she was set back on the ground. Papyrus nods enthusiastically at the idea.

            “TALL HUMAN, IT WAS WONDERFUL MEETING YOU! NEXT TIME I INSIST YOU VISIT ME AND WE’LL HAVE SOME WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!” You laugh happily. “That sounds good to me. And I take it I’ll be tackling your puzzles as well?”

            “NYEH HEH HEH! WHY OF COURSE! I EXPECT YOU WILL BE THOROUGHLY JAPED BY MY EXPERTLY CRAFTED PUZZLES THE NEXT TIME WE MEET. GOODBYE FRIENDS!” Papyrus gives you yet another hug before hopping in his car and driving off, shouting goodbyes the entire time. Once Papyrus’ car was out of sight, Frisk takes a seat on the front steps to her house.

            “Thanks for taking Paps and I to the park,” Frisk says as you sit down next to her. “He gets excited about a lot of things, but I could tell he really was happy today. Especially since he made a new friend.” You smile, thinking about how pleased he looked when the ducks first started swarming him. “I’m glad I made one too,” You tell her. You could see her relax a tiny bit. You look out towards the city, watching the sun start starting to dip below the taller buildings.

            “I had a fun time today, but I really should start heading home,” You say. “Tell your parents I said thanks for everything.” You pick yourself off of the step and Frisk follows suit.

            “Hey, I’m just glad you had a good time even with Sans’ freak-out,” Frisk replies. You snort a little bit. “Oh it wasn’t that bad.” You say, with sarcasm dripping from your every word. Frisk hits you lightly on the arm.

            “If it makes you feel better, I’m sure my mom gave him hell for it.” She tells you. You could only imagine the chewing out Sans must have gotten. “I’m sure she only said what was necessary…” You say innocently. Frisk rolls her eyes.

            “Remind me to keep you two separated in the future.” She says, before giving you a hug. “And don’t go picking fights with him if I’m not there to stop you.” You look down at her in mock offense, only to be met with a harsh glare. You hold your hands up in surrender as she lets you go. “Fine, I’ll play nice with the little guy.” You say with a smug grin. Frisk throws her hands up in exasperation.

            “No, see, that’s the kind of thing you _don’t_ want to say around him!” She says, as you start laughing. “Aww, Frisk, are you worried about me? That’s so sweet of you!” You tease as Frisk lets out a groan.

            “You know what?” She says as a pink glow spreads to her cheeks, “Fuck it, have fun getting squashed by a magic skeleton. Not my problem!” Frisk manages to get to her front door before you can think of anything to say.

            “So I’ll see you for our date, right?” You yell to her. She pauses, her door opened as she turns back to face you. “What do you think?” She yells back, before going inside and shutting the door behind her. You stand there for a moment, still trying to figure out whether she was joking or not. “So does this Wednesday evening work?” You yell to the house. After a few seconds, Frisk opens the door and pokes her head out to yell at you again.

            “Yes it does, good night!” And with that, Frisk is gone as quickly as she appeared. You laugh a bit before getting in your car. Your drive home would be filled with you thinking of places you could take Frisk.

********************************************

            Wednesday afternoon rolls around before you know it, and you still hadn’t figured out where you were going to go with Frisk tonight. It hadn’t been hard to figure out what you’d wear, but that may have been due to the lack of diversity in your clothing. Plus, jeans and a nice sweater sat comfortably in the middle of the ‘casual-fancy’ scale in your opinion. You glanced at the clock and saw that it was coming up on 5. _Fuck it,_ you thought, _I’ll just have to wing it._ You grab your keys, wallet and phone and set out to the Dreemurrs’ house.

            It’s only about 5:30 by the time you get to her house, and you opt to ring the doorbell rather than text her and wait in the car. When Asgore answers the door, you are surprised at first, until your common sense catches up with you. _Asgore lives here, why wouldn’t he be one of the people who might answer the door? At least it wasn’t Sans. God, that would have been awkward._

            “Howdy ___,” Asgore says. “I take it you’re looking for Frisk?” You nod in confirmation. “I believe she’s getting ready, why don’t you come inside while you wait.” Asgore is smiling, but it seems a little forced, as it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Instead, he seems like he’s got a myriad of thoughts on his mind. “Of course, thank you sir.” You thought that addressing him as sir was a good idea at the moment.  Not only was he the King of Monsters, but (slightly more important at this particular moment) he was also your date’s dad. Her giant, horned, goat dad. No reason not to be polite, right? Asgore lets out a soft laugh.

            “Please, I do prefer Asgore when I’m at home. The formalities are for the politicians who would try to disregard my people.” You open your mouth, but Asgore holds up a hand before you. “Before my daughter comes down, there is something I’d like to talk to you about. I’m very concerned for her well-being.” Asgore looks more serious than you’ve ever seen him.

            “There are humans who wish harm on monsters, and on my family specifically. Now this may be paranoia on my part, but I fear for her when she goes out. Especially when she isn’t surrounded by crowds or another monster.” You could see it now, the worry swimming behind his eyes. “Therefore, I would ask if you would put Sans’ number in your phone.” You once again open your mouth, but Asgore puts his hand up to stop you again.

            “I understand you two don’t get along, but for the sake of Frisk’s safety I’m asking you to text him if something bad happens. He’ll come if Frisk’s involved, and he can get there faster than any other monster. Please, it’ll help put my mind at ease.” You don’t even like the idea of being in the same room as Sans, much less asking him for help. But Asgore seems genuinely concerned, and if anything did happen, you know you’d feel awful for letting your stubbornness get Frisk hurt.

            “If it’s to help Frisk, I’ll do it.” You mutter. Asgore lights up when you say this, and he tells you Sans’ number. Once you’ve entered it in and he’s double checked to make sure it’s in correctly, you can feel his mood shift in an instant.

            “Now,” Asgore says, “There is one other thing. Toriel told me that your SOUL has started to unbind itself. May I see for myself?” You think for a second before shrugging.

            “Sure, why not?” Before you can expect it, you feel the peeling sensation on your chest, and the yellow glow of your SOUL fills up the room. Asgore begins inspecting it, lingering over the peeled portion of it. “I forgot how little magic it takes for some humans’ SOULs to become unbound.” Asgore mutters to himself before looking you in the eyes. “You have a strong SOUL, ____. If your magic does manifest, remember to be smart with it. Humans hunted mages in the past, and I would hate to see that happen again.”

            On that dark note, Asgore prods your SOUL with a finger and it sinks back into your chest. “I should leave now, I don’t want Frisk to think I’ve been threatening you.” He chuckles, and you laugh weakly as well. You really aren’t sure what to make of the mage comment. Was it supposed to be a threat, a warning or a history lesson? You didn’t have any time to dwell on it, as Frisk had just walked into the room.

            “And here I was worried you may not show up!” Frisk says teasingly. You laugh and wave a hand towards the door.

            “Ready?” You ask. Frisk gives you a mischievous grin. You barely hear her reply as she heads towards the door.

            “More than you know.”

************************************

            You’d lucked out. While you couldn’t think of anywhere to go to dinner, Frisk had already thought of a few places to eat at.

            “Between Mom and Papyrus, I barely get to eat out.” She told you. “But it’s tasty and free, so I can’t complain in the slightest.”

            Frisk had told you about a small Italian place on the human side of the city, and you were more than happy eating Italian tonight.

            “So you never did tell me what you’re studying.” You say between bites of your spaghetti. Frisk had opted for a calzone, and had eagerly dug into it when it first showed up. “Politics,” she tells you, wiping her mouth with her napkin before continuing. “Specifically to help the monsters gain proper rights.” You give Frisk a confused look.

            “Don’t the monsters already have full rights?” You ask. Frisk shakes her head with a sour look on her face. “They might be citizens now, but the anti-discrimination laws are only on a local level. And even then, they’re not heavily enforced.” She says. “They might be more low key now, but there are still plenty of anti-monster groups out there.” You thought back to what Asgore told you and nodded your head in agreement.

            “Let’s not dwell on that now though. What are you in college for?” Frisk asks you, the sour look now replaced with a small smile. “Not sure yet,” you tell her, staring down into the last few bites of your meal. “I was looking at IT, but I honestly have no real idea yet.” Now Frisk is the one who looks confused.

            “I thought you were on your fourth year?” She asks you. You run your hand reflexively through your hair before answering.

            “I’ll be upfront with you, this isn’t a fun story. And it’s a bit long. ” You tell her. “Are you sure you want to hear it?” Frisk nods and settles back into her chair, her brown eyes locking with yours. So you set in and tell her about how your mom got sick, and how you tried to go to college the year after it happened. About how you couldn’t focus and how you spent more time driving between her house and your dorm than you spent on campus. You told her about the two years you spent getting her finances and your own head in order (but leaving out exactly _where_ the money came from).

            “So once things were better, I re-enrolled. This is my first semester back.” You finish saying. You’d been gauging Frisk’s expression the entire time, and she seemed to genuinely care about your troubles.

            “I get what it’s like to be in a bad place mentally,” Frisk tells you. “And I’m glad you’re feeling better now. You’d tell me if you weren’t, right?”

            “Of course I would.” You say to her, and you mean it! Otherwise you wouldn’t have spilled your guts to her just a minute ago. “That’s what friends do.” You realize what you said right after it came out. You can see the smile on Frisk’s face dip slightly before it comes right back, only this time it looks a bit forced.

            “That’s right,” She says, the usual energy in her voice slightly dulled. “We’re both friends.” You felt like you’d royally screwed up the night in one sentence.

  _And you can royally_ un _screw it with another sentence,_ you think to yourself. _Stop being a little bitch and tell her how you feel! You know you’ve got it bad for her, so just tell her that!_

Despite the huge amount of sense it made, you couldn’t bring yourself to say it. The rest of dinner came and went with only strained small talk, and before you knew it you were both walking back to your car. You’d had to park a couple blocks away from the restaurant, which at the moment only served to drag on the quiet walk. The two of you were only half a block away from your car, and you’d fished your keys out of your pocket before you decided to open your mouth. But before you could get any words out, Frisk grabbed onto your arm and pulled you closer to her as you two continued to walk. You turned to Frisk to ask them about it, but their face told you that they didn’t grab you out of affection.

            “There’s a group of three guys following us about a hundred feet back.” She whispers in your ear. You start to look back before Frisk tugs your arm. “Don’t look!” She hisses. “I need you to follow me exactly. We’re going to make this next right, and then run for the next alleyway. Got it?” You only grunt in reply. Part of you hopes Frisk is being paranoid, but from what Asgore told you earlier, odds are that her suspicions are correct. As soon as you round the corner, Frisk breaks into a sprint. You follow after her, and despite your longer legs, she’s still a few paces ahead of you when the two of you hit the next alley. The two of you duck into it and crouch behind a dumpster, and a few seconds later you hear the sound off running and yelling.

            “They’re still close, get moving!” The first voice says.

            “But we’re just supposed to keep an eye on them, right?” A second voice asks. You can’t hear them after that as they’re already down the street. Frisk stands up and heads further down the alley.

            “Let’s get back to your car before they turn around. This should put us near your car if I’m right.” Frisk tells you. You follow her silently, and when you get to your car you make a point of getting in and driving away as fast as you can. The ride back is dead silent up until you get back to her neighborhood. The entire ride you’d been checking your rearview mirror to see if anyone had followed you, and to your luck it appeared that no one had. Once you’re approaching her house, you stop the car in the middle of the deserted neighborhood road.

            “So I know it’s been a long night, but I think we need to talk. And I’d rather not do it at your parents’ house. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” Frisk’s reply is short in tone.

            “Make the next left and then an immediate right. There’s a park we can stop at.”

            The park is a bit large, holding a small playground, a swing set, two basketball nets and a small field next to it. You and Frisk get out of the car, and Frisk takes a seat on the swings. You sit down next to her as she lets out a frustrated sigh.

            “It’d be nice if I could go out _just once_ without being followed. Is that so much to ask?” She mutters, and you can almost hear her grating her teeth in anger. She starts to swing before addressing you. “You seem awfully calm about all this. I guess Dad gave you a heads up?”

            “Something like that.” You tell her. “I thought he was being a bit overprotective, but I guess I was wrong. Do you always have to sneak around like that?”

            “Nope,” She replies, swinging even higher. “That was for your benefit, not mine. They already know where I live, but we’ve got the Royal Guard patrolling the neighborhood. If they knew what your car looked like, they could find you eventually. That’s why I was trying to be all sneaky tonight.”

            The magnitude of what you were getting into was starting to hit you. From what you’d heard, those three guys were following someone’s directions. How big were these hate groups? How far would they go in their hatred?

            “I’m sorry about tonight, maybe we shouldn’t have done this.” Frisk must have seen the look on your face, because they’ve stopped swinging and are looking at their knees. The thoroughly dejected tone of their voice sends your blood boiling.

            “Don’t say that. Don’t _ever_ say that.” You say, gritting your teeth and attempting to keep your voice calm. Here was your spirited, optimistic, wonderful friend, who was getting stalked and harassed just because of who her friends were. _It’s not fair!_ You thought. _Who are they to judge Frisk? Who are they to judge the company she keeps!?_ You get off your swing and grab both of Frisk’s shoulders.

            “Fuck ‘em,” You say to her. “Fuck them and their petty hatred and their fear and their shitty sense of superiority! I wouldn’t take back tonight for anything, and I hope that’s how you really feel too. In fact, I want to do this again! I want to keep taking you out until those asshats can see just how crazy I am about you!” Frisk processed what you said before you could realize you said it.

            “And just how crazy is that?” She asks, but even in the near dark you could see a blush forming under her coy smile. Not that she was the only one to do so. “Pretty damn crazy, if we’re being completely honest.” You tell her as you grin like a fool. “So I guess what I’m asking is, do you feel the same way?”

            Frisk grabs your head and plants a kiss on your cheek, her smile even wider when she pulls away. “How badly did you want that?” She asks you smugly. You plant a kiss right on her lips before whispering in her ear.

            “More than you know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Things have been kind of crazy for me lately, but I finally found some time to write again. I'll probably go back and edit for grammar later if I remember.
> 
> I'll answer questions if I can.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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